Bulldogs Place Third at UMass Nine-Way Meet

AMHERST, Mass. – Even though the Bulldogs
aimed for a more conservative meet this Saturday, the team still
placed third out of 11 teams with 101 points at the UMass Nine-Way
Meet. In addition to not having any of their distance runners
competing, the remaining athletes competed in fewer events in order
to prepare for the second half of outdoor season. Nevertheless, the
Bulldogs took home many top spots across the board.

The field events might have been one of the Bulldogs'
strong points over the weekend. Senior Eric DePalo
won the pole vault in 4.80m, jumping a foot more than any of his
competitors. The throwers also followed with a win and two
second-place finishes – freshman Mike Levine
placed first in the discus (49.95m) and second in the hammer throw
(49.66m), while senior David Smith placed second
in the shot put (14.56m), only .02m behind Central
Connecticut's Rashad Williams. The Bulldogs notched another
top spot with senior Reynolds Holmes'
third-place finish in the long jump with a mark of 6.62m. Sophomore
Yifan Chen and junior Samba
Binagi also took third (13.33m) and fourth (13.31m) in the
triple jump.

In the sprints, sophomore Matt Bieszard and
junior Marty Evans finished side-by-side in the
200-meter dash in second (21.76) and third (21.98), respectively.
The last time they raced the 200-meter dash together, Evans edged
Bieszard by .23 seconds. The pair seems as if they will continue
the healthy competition they began in indoor season into outdoor as
well. Juniors Nathan Molina and Chris
Stanley also took seventh and ninth in the event,
respectively. Another of the Bulldogs' middle sprinters,
senior David Soiles, placed fourth in the
400-meter dash in 50.60 seconds. In the shorter sprints, Holmes and
Molina went 5-6 in the 100-meter dash. The sprinters also won the
4x100-meter relay in 42.23 seconds.

In his first race in over two months, senior Remi
Ray had a very strong performance in the 800-meter run,
finishing sixth out of 52 runners in 1:55.57. Senior Ted
Galligan also took third (54.82) in a close race in the
400-meter hurdles; only .21 seconds separating him from the
first-place finisher, Albany's Oluebube Abara.

Albany took home the team title with 201.5 points, while UMass
placed second in 135.5 points.

Fans should be sure to come out to the Bulldogs' next
meet, which is at home against Harvard on April 10.